Display device having a touch screen and method of driving the same

ABSTRACT

A display device including a touch screen and method of driving the same are provided. In a method of driving display device including a touch screen, the display device including a panel including a plurality of gate lines, and a plurality of electrodes respectively corresponding to the plurality of gate lines, the method includes: applying, by a touch sensing unit, a touch scan signal to a display driving unit, applying, by the display driving unit: a gate signal to a subset of the plurality of gate lines, a common voltage to a first subset of the plurality of electrodes, corresponding to the subset of the plurality of gate lines, and a touch scan signal to a second subset of the plurality of electrodes, other than the first subset of the plurality of electrodes.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119(a) of KoreanPatent Application No. 10-2012-0089577, filed on Aug. 16, 2012, in theKorean Intellectual Property Office, the entire disclosure of which isincorporated by reference herein for all purposes.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The following description relates to a display device, and moreparticularly, to a display device having a touch screen.

2. Discussion of the Related Art

A touch screen is a kind of input device that is installed in an imagedisplay device, such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), a field emissiondisplay (FED), a plasma display panel (PDP), an electroluminescencedevice (EL), an eletrophoretic display (EPD), etc., to allow a user toinput predetermined information by pressing (or touching) a touch sensorin the touch screen while viewing the image display device.

Recently, in order to implement a slim mobile terminal, such as a smartphone, a tablet PC, or the like, demands on an in-cell type displaydevice integrated with a touch screen, in which elements configuring thetouch screen are installed, are increasing.

Hereinafter, a method of driving a conventional display device having atouch screen will be described with reference to FIG. 1.

FIG. 1 is a timing diagram of signals appearing in display periods andtouch periods of a conventional display device having a touch screen.

The conventional display device having the touch screen may be one ofin-cell type self-capacitive displays. As shown in FIG. 1, the displaydevice having the touch screen performs display driving and touchdriving, respectively, by temporally separating display periods fromtouch periods.

However, since display periods are temporally separated from touchperiods, it is difficult to ensure a touch sensing time. Also, due to aninsufficient display driving time, it is difficult to ensure a chargingtime for display driving, which leads to deterioration of displayquality.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the present invention relate to a display device having atouch screen and method of driving the same. Accordingly, embodiments ofthe present invention are directed to a display device thatsubstantially obviates one or more of the problems due to limitationsand disadvantages of the related art.

An object of embodiments is to provide a display device having a touchscreen capable of spatially separating display operation and touchoperation.

Advantages, objects, and features of the disclosure will be set forth inpart in the description which follows and in part will become apparentto those having ordinary skill in the art upon examination of thefollowing or may be learned from practice of the invention. Theobjectives and other advantages of the invention may be realized andattained by the structure particularly pointed out in the writtendescription and claims hereof as well as the appended drawings.

To achieve these objects and other advantages and in accordance with thepurpose according to one aspect of the invention, there is provided adisplay device including a touch screen, including: a panel, including:a plurality of gate lines, a plurality of data lines, and a plurality ofelectrodes grouped into n groups in a direction in which the pluralityof gate lines extend, where n is an integer equal to or greater than 2,a display driving unit configured to: apply a gate signal to theplurality of gate lines, apply a data signal to the plurality of datalines, and apply a common voltage or a touch scan signal to theplurality of electrodes, and a touch sensing unit configured to:generate the touch scan signal, and apply the touch scan signal to thedisplay driving unit, wherein the display driving unit is furtherconfigured to apply the touch scan signal to at least one group otherthan a group corresponding to gate lines to which the gate signal isapplied, among the n groups.

In another aspect, there is provided a method of driving a displaydevice having a touch screen, the display device including a panelincluding a plurality of electrodes grouped into n groups, where n is aninteger greater than 2, a display driving unit, and a touch sensingunit, the method including: at the touch sensing unit, applying a touchscan signal to the display driving unit, and at the display drivingunit: applying a gate signal to a plurality of gate lines correspondingto a first group among the n groups, applying a common voltage to aplurality of electrodes belonging to the first group, and applying atouch scan signal to a plurality of electrodes belonging to a secondgroup of the n groups.

In another aspect, there is provided a method of driving display deviceincluding a touch screen, the display device including a panel includinga plurality of gate lines, and a plurality of electrodes respectivelycorresponding to the plurality of gate lines, the method including:applying, by a touch sensing unit, a touch scan signal to a displaydriving unit, applying, by the display driving unit: a gate signal to asubset of the plurality of gate lines, a common voltage to a firstsubset of the plurality of electrodes, corresponding to the subset ofthe plurality of gate lines, and a touch scan signal to a second subsetof the plurality of electrodes, other than the first subset of theplurality of electrodes.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and areintended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a furtherunderstanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute apart of this specification, illustrate implementations of the inventionand together with the description serve to explain the principles of theinvention.

FIG. 1 is a timing diagram of signals appearing in display periods andtouch periods of a conventional display device having a touch screen.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view illustrating a structure of a display devicehaving a touch screen according to an embodiment.

FIG. 3 illustrates a schematic view of a panel of the display devicehaving a touch screen according to an embodiment.

FIG. 4 illustrates a schematic view of a switching unit and a touchsensing unit of the display device having a touch screen according to anembodiment.

FIGS. 5 to 7 are timing diagrams of signals for driving the displaydevice having a touch screen according to an embodiment.

FIG. 8 illustrates a panel of a display device having a touch screenaccording to an embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a timing diagram of signals for driving the display devicehaving a touch screen according to an embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments of the presentinvention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings. In the following description, when a detailed description ofwell-known functions or configurations related to this document isdetermined to unnecessarily cloud a gist of the invention, the detaileddescription thereof will be omitted. The progression of processing stepsand/or operations described is an example; however, the sequence ofsteps and/or operations is not limited to that set forth herein and maybe changed as is known in the art, with the exception of steps and/oroperations necessarily occurring in a certain order. Like referencenumerals designate like elements throughout. Names of the respectiveelements used in the following explanations are selected only forconvenience of writing the specification and may be thus different fromthose used in actual products.

In a display device having a touch screen according to an embodiment, aplurality of electrodes may be grouped into n groups, and a touch scansignal may be sequentially applied to the n groups. For convenience ofdescription, in the following description, it is presumed that aplurality of electrodes are grouped into two or three groups. However,the electrodes may be grouped into four groups or more.

FIG. 2 is a view illustrating a structure of a display device having atouch screen, according to an embodiment. FIG. 3 illustrates a panel 100of the display device having the touch screen illustrated in FIG. 2.FIG. 4 illustrates a switching unit 250 and a touch sensing unit 300 ofthe display device having the touch screen illustrated in FIG. 2.

As shown in FIG. 2, the display device having the touch screen mayinclude the panel 100, a display driving unit 200, and the touch sensingunit 300.

The panel 100 may have a touch screen (not shown) installed therein, andthe touch screen may function to detect a location at which a user'stouch occurs. As an example, the touch screen may be an in-cell typetouch screen to which a self-capacitive scheme is applied.

The panel 100 may have a structure in which a liquid crystal layer isformed between two substrates. In one example, on the lower substrate ofthe panel 100, a plurality of gate lines GL1 through GLn, a plurality ofdata lines DL1 through DLn intersecting the gate lines GL1 through GLn,and a plurality of thin film transistors (TFTs) formed at intersectionsof the data lines DL1 through DLn and the gate lines GL1 through GLn maybe formed, such that a plurality of pixels may be arranged in a matrixform due to the intersection structure of the data lines DL1 through DLnand the gate lines GL1 through GLn.

Also, the panel 100 may include, as shown in FIG. 3, a plurality ofelectrodes 120 and a plurality of wires 130.

In response to a common voltage being applied for display driving of thepanel 100, the electrodes 120 may act as common electrodes for drivingliquid crystal together with pixel electrodes formed at the individualpixels. Also, in response to a touch scan signal for touch sensing beingapplied thereto, the electrodes 120 may act as touch electrodes fordetecting a location at which a touch has occurred.

Also, the electrodes 120 may be grouped into three groups 110 of a firstgroup 111, a second group 112, and a third group 113, in the panel 100,the groups 110 each having, for example, a block shape.

The groups 110 of the panel 100 may be arranged in the direction inwhich the gate lines GL1 through GLn extend in order to receive thecommon voltage for display driving and the touch scan signal for touchsensing in synchronization of a gate signal input to the gate lines GL1through GLn.

The wires 130 may connect the electrodes 120 to the display driving unit200. For example, the wires 130 may function to transfer a commonvoltage or a touch scan signal applied from the display driving unit 200to the electrodes 120 of the panel 100, and may transfer changes incapacitance received from the electrodes 120 to the display driving unit200. In one example, the changes in capacitance may be transferred tothe touch sensing unit 300 through the display driving unit 200.

With reference again to FIG. 2, the display driving unit 200 may includea gate driver 210 for applying a scan signal to the gate lines GL1through GLn formed on the lower substrate of the panel 100, a datadriver 220 for applying a data signal RGB to the data lines DL1 throughDLn formed on the lower substrate of the panel 100, a common voltagegenerator 230 for applying a common voltage to the electrodes 120, atiming controller 240 for controlling the gate driver 210 and the datadriver 220, and the switching unit 250.

First, the gate driver 210 may shift a gate start pulse GSP receivedfrom the timing controller 240 according to a gate shift clock GSC, andmay supply a gate signal having a gate on voltage Von to the gate linesGL1 through GLn, sequentially, and the gate signal may include a gatescan signal. Also, while no gate signal having the gate on voltage Vonmay be supplied, the gate driver 210 may supply a gate off voltage Voffto the gate lines GL1 through GLn.

Meanwhile, the gate driver 210 may be provided independently from thepanel 100 and may be electrically connected to the panel 100 by variousmethods. However, it may also be possible for the gate driver 210 to bepackaged with the panel 100, that is, the panel 100 may be a gate inpanel (GIP) type. In one example, gate control signals for controllingthe gate driver 210 may include a start signal VST and a gate clockGCLK.

The data driver 220 may shift a source start pulse SSP received from thetiming controller 240 according to a source shift clock SSC to generatea sampling signal. Also, the data driver 220 may receive pixel data (RGBimage data) according to the source shift clock SSC, may latch the pixeldata according to the sampling signal, may convert the pixel data into adata signal, and then may supply the data signal to the data lines DL1through DLn in units of horizontal lines, in response to a source outputenable (SOE) signal. The data signal may include a data voltage.

For this operation, the data driver 220 may be configured to include adata sampling unit, a latch unit, a digital-to-analog converter, anoutput buffer, etc.

The common voltage generator 230 may generate a common voltage that isto be supplied to the electrodes 120 for outputting images. The commonvoltage generated by the common voltage generator 230 may be supplied tothe electrodes 120 through the touch sensing unit 300.

Then, the timing controller 240 may receive a timing signal, such asdata enable (DE), dot clock (CLK), etc., from an external system, andmay generate control signals GCS and DCS for controlling the operationtimings of the gate driver 210 and the data driver 220. Also, the timingcontroller 400 may rearrange image data received from the externalsystem, and may output the rearranged image data to the data driver 220.

The switching unit 250 may include, as shown in FIG. 4, a plurality ofswitches 251, and may perform switching such that the common voltagegenerated by the common voltage generator 230 may be applied to theelectrodes of the panel 100 or such that the touch scan signal generatedby the touch sensing unit 300 may be applied to the electrodes of thepanel 100.

In other words, the switches 251 of the switching unit 250 may performswitching such that the touch scan signal generated by the touch sensingunit 300 may be sequentially applied to one or more groups of the threegroups 111, 112, and 113, except for a group corresponding to gate linesto which a gate signal is applied, in units of groups, and the commonvoltage generated by the common voltage generator 230 may be applied tothe groups to which no touch scan signal is applied.

For example, if the group corresponding to the gate lines to which thegate signal is applied is the first group 111, the switches 251 mayperform switching such that the touch scan signal may be applied to thesecond group 112 or the third group 113.

At this time, the switches 251 may perform switching such that thecommon voltage may be applied to the groups to which no touch scansignal is applied. As an example, the electrodes belonging to the firstgroup 111 may act as electrodes for display driving due to the gatesignal applied from the gate lines, and the electrodes belonging to thesecond group 112 or the third group 113 to which the touch scan signalis applied may act as electrodes for touch sensing.

If the group corresponding to the gate lines to which the gate signal isapplied is the second group 112, the switches 251 may perform switchingsuch that the touch scan signal may be applied to the first group 111 orthe third group 113.

At this time, the switches 251 may perform switching such that thecommon voltage may be applied to the groups to which no touch scansignal is applied. As an example, the electrodes belonging to the secondgroup 112 may act as electrodes for display driving due to the gatesignal applied from the gate lines, and the electrodes belonging to thegroup to which the touch scan signal is applied may act as electrodesfor touch sensing.

Likewise, if the group corresponding to the gate lines to which the gatesignal is applied is the third group 113, the switches 251 may performswitching such that the touch scan signal generated by the touch sensingunit 300 may be sequentially applied to one or more groups other thanthe group corresponding to the gate lines to which the gate signal isapplied, in units of groups, and the common voltage may be applied tothe groups to which no touch scan signal is applied. At this time, theelectrodes belonging to the third group 113 may act as electrodes fordisplay driving, and the electrodes belonging to the group to which thetouch scan signal is applied may act as electrodes for touch sensing.

However, in some cases, it may also be possible for the switches 251 toperform switching such that the touch scan signal may be applied to allthe remaining groups other than the group corresponding to the gatelines to which the gate signal is applied. For example, if the groupcorresponding to the gate lines to which the gate signal is applied isthe first group 111, the switches 251 may perform switching such thatthe touch scan signal may be applied to the second and third groups 112and 113 simultaneously.

As described above, as the display device having the touch screen mayspatially separates display periods from touch periods, instead oftemporally separating display periods from touch periods, such thatdisplay driving may be performed simultaneously with touch driving, itmay be possible to ensure a long touch sensing time upon touch driving,resulting in improvement of touch detection performance and accuracy intouch detection, while ensuring a long charging time upon displaydriving, preventing deterioration in display quality.

The touch sensing unit 300 may apply the touch scan signal to thedisplay driving unit 200, and may detect a user's touch based on changesin capacitance received from the plurality of electrodes of the panelthrough the display driving unit 200.

The touch scan signal generated by the touch sensing unit 300 may be atouch driving voltage, and the minimum value of the touch drivingvoltage may be greater than the value of the common voltage applied tothe electrodes of the panel 100 for display driving.

Also, the touch sensing unit 300 may include a component (not shown) fortouch sensing. For example, the touch sensing unit 300 may include acomponent that detects a user's touch location using changes incapacitance at the user's touch location if the user touches a specificarea of the panel 100 with his or her finger or a pen/stylus in responseto a touch scan signal for touch sensing being applied to the electrodesof the panel 100.

The component for touch sensing may be included, for example, in thetouch sensing unit 300 or the timing controller 240, or may be providedoutside the touch sensing unit 300.

Meanwhile, the display device having the touch screen may driveelectrodes for sensing a touch, in units of groups, sequentially, andmay supply a common voltage for display driving and a touch scan signalfor touch sensing, respectively, in units of groups, according to a gatesignal applied to the gate lines.

Hereinafter, a method of driving the display device having the touchscreen described above will be described with reference to FIGS. 5, 6,and 7.

FIGS. 5 to 7 are timing diagrams of signals for driving the displaydevice having the touch screen illustrated in FIG. 2.

The display device having the touch screen may include a panel, adisplay driving unit, and a touch sensing unit. The panel may include aplurality of electrodes grouped into three groups arranged in thedirection in which gate lines GL1 through GLn extend, and each group maycorrespond to a plurality of gate lines.

According to the method of driving the display device having the touchscreen, first, as shown in FIG. 5, a gate signal may be applied to aplurality of gate lines corresponding to each group.

For example, a gate driver in the display driving unit may shift a gatestart pulse received from a timing controller according to a gate shiftclock, and may apply a gate signal having a gate on voltage to the gatelines GL1 through GLn, sequentially.

Then, during one frame, a touch scan signal V_(T) for touch sensing maybe applied to electrodes belonging to at least one group other than agroup corresponding to gate lines to which the gate signal is applied,and a common voltage V_(com) may be applied to electrodes belonging tothe remaining groups to which no touch scan signal V_(T) is applied.

In response to the common voltage V_(com) being applied to theelectrodes belonging to the group corresponding to the gate lines towhich the gate signal is applied, the electrodes may act as electrodesfor display driving due to the gate signal having the gate on voltage,and electrodes belonging to the group to which the touch scan signal isapplied may act as electrodes for touch sensing due to the touch scansignal.

For example, if a gate signal is applied to gate lines corresponding toa first group, the display driving unit 200 may apply a touch scansignal V_(T) to electrodes belonging to a second group, and may apply acommon voltage V_(com) to the first group and a third group to which notouch scan signal V_(T) is applied.

The electrodes belonging to the second group to which the touch scansignal V_(T) is applied may act as electrodes for touch sensing, and theelectrodes belonging to the first group corresponding to the gate linesto which the gate signal is applied may act as electrodes for displaydriving if the common voltage V_(com) is applied.

If the gate signal is applied to the gate lines corresponding to thesecond group after the gate signal is applied to the gate linescorresponding to the first group, the display driving unit 200 may applythe touch scan signal V_(T) to the electrodes belonging to the thirdgroup, and may apply the common voltage V_(com) to the electrodesbelonging to the first and second groups to which no touch scan signalV_(T) is applied.

The electrodes belonging to the third group to which the touch scansignal V_(T) is applied may act as electrodes for touch sensing, and theelectrodes belonging to the second group corresponding to the gate linesto which the gate signal is applied may act as electrodes for displaydriving if the common voltage V_(com) is applied.

If the gate signal is applied to the gate lines corresponding to thethird group after the gate signal is applied to the gate linescorresponding to the second group, the display driving unit 200 mayapply the touch scan signal V_(T) to the electrodes belonging to thefirst group, and may apply the common voltage V_(com) to the second andthird groups to which no touch scan signal V_(T) is applied.

The electrodes belonging to the first group to which the touch scansignal V_(T) is applied may act as electrodes for touch sensing, and theelectrodes belonging to the third group corresponding to the gate linesto which the gate signal is applied may act as electrodes for displaydriving if the common voltage V_(com) is applied.

In one example, the touch scan signal may be a touch driving voltage,and the minimum value of the touch driving voltage may be greater thanthe value of the common voltage V_(com) that is applied to a pluralityof electrodes of the panel for display driving.

The method of driving the display device having the touch screen, asshown in FIG. 5, may include performing the above-described processrepeatedly in units of frames.

Hereinafter, another method of driving the display device having thetouch screen will be described with reference to FIG. 6, and the sameoperations as described above with reference to FIG. 5 will not bedescribed again.

As shown in FIG. 6, if a gate signal is applied to gate linescorresponding to the first group, the display driving unit 200 may applya touch scan signal V_(T) to electrodes belonging to the third group,and may apply a common voltage V_(com) to electrodes belonging to theremaining groups to which no touch scan signal is applied.

Further, if the gate signal is applied to gate lines corresponding tothe second group, the display driving unit 200 may apply the touch scansignal V_(T) to electrodes belonging to the first group, and may applythe common voltage V_(com) to electrodes belonging to the remaininggroups to which no touch scan signal V_(T) is applied.

In addition, if the gate signal is applied to gate lines correspondingto the third group, the display driving unit 200 may apply the touchscan signal V_(T) to electrodes belonging to the second group, and mayapply the common voltage V_(com) to electrodes belonging to theremaining groups to which no touch scan signal V_(T) is applied.

The method of driving the display device having the touch screen, asshown in FIG. 6, may include performing the above-described processrepeatedly in units of frames.

Hereinafter, another method of driving the display device having thetouch screen will be described with reference to FIG. 7.

As shown in FIG. 7, if a gate signal is applied to gate linescorresponding to the first group, the display driving unit 200 may applya touch scan signal V_(T) to electrodes belonging to the second andthird groups, and may apply a common voltage V_(com) to electrodesbelonging to the first group to which no touch scan signal is applied.

Further, if the gate signal is applied to gate lines corresponding tothe second group, the display driving unit 200 may apply the touch scansignal V_(T) to electrodes belonging to the first and third groups, andmay apply the common voltage V_(com) to electrodes belonging to thesecond group to which no touch scan signal V_(T) is applied.

In addition, if the gate signal is applied to gate lines correspondingto the third group, the display driving unit 200 may apply the touchscan signal V_(T) to the electrodes belonging to the first and secondgroups, and may apply the common voltage V_(com) to the electrodesbelonging to the third group to which no touch scan signal V_(T) isapplied.

As such, as shown in FIG. 7, the method of driving the display devicehaving the touch screen may include applying a touch scan signal to allthe remaining groups other than a group corresponding to gate lines towhich a gate signal is applied.

The method of driving the display device having the touch screen, asshown in FIG. 7, may include performing the above-described processrepeatedly in units of frames.

Therefore, according to the methods of driving the display device havingthe touch screen, as described above, by spatially separating displayperiods from touch periods, instead of temporally separating displayperiods from touch periods, it may be possible to simultaneously performdisplay driving and touch driving. Accordingly, it may be possible toensure a long touch sensing time upon touch driving, resulting inimprovement of touch detection performance and accuracy in touchdetection, while ensuring a long charging time upon display driving,thereby preventing deterioration in display quality.

FIG. 8 illustrates a panel 100 of a display device having a touch screenaccording to an embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 8, the panel 100 may include a plurality of electrodes120 and a plurality of wires 130.

If a common voltage for display driving of the panel 100 is applied tothe electrodes 120, the electrodes 120 may act as common electrodes fordriving liquid crystal together with pixel electrodes formed at pixels,and if a touch scan signal for touch sensing is applied to theelectrodes 120, the electrodes 120 may act as touch electrodes fordetecting a touch location.

The electrodes 120 may be grouped into two groups 110 of a first group111 and a second group in the panel 100, the groups 100 each having, forexample, a block shape.

The groups of the panel 100 may be, as shown in FIG. 8, arranged in thedirection in which gate lines extend in order to supply a common voltagefor display driving and a touch scan signal for touch sensing to theelectrodes 120 in association with a gate signal input to the gatelines.

The wires 130 may connect the electrodes 120 to a display driving unit200. For example, the wires 130 may transfer a common voltage or a touchscan signal supplied from the display driving unit 200 to the electrodes120 of the panel 100, and may detect changes in capacitance receivedfrom the electrodes 120 and may transfer the results of the detection tothe display driving unit 200. In one example, the changes in capacitancemay be transferred to the touch sensing unit 300 through the displaydriving unit 200

FIG. 9 is a timing diagram of signals for driving the display devicehaving the touch screen of an embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 9, a touch scan signal V_(T) may be applied toelectrodes belonging to a group other than a group to which a gatesignal is applied, and a common voltage V_(com) may be applied toelectrodes belonging to the remaining group to which no touch scansignal V_(T) is applied.

For example, if a gate signal is applied to gate lines corresponding toa first group, the display driving unit 200 may apply a touch scansignal V_(T) to electrodes belonging to the second group, and may applya common voltage to electrodes belonging to the first group to which notouch scan signal is applied.

Further, if a gate signal is applied to gate lines corresponding to thesecond group, the display driving unit 200 may apply the touch scansignal V_(T) to electrodes belonging to the first group, and may applythe common voltage V_(com) to electrodes belonging to the second groupto which no touch scan signal V_(T) is applied.

In one example, the touch scan signal V_(T) may be a touch drivingvoltage, and the minimum value of the touch driving voltage may begreater than the value of the common voltage V_(com) that is applied tothe electrodes of the panel 100 for display driving.

The method of driving the display device having a touch screen, as shownin FIG. 9, may include performing the above-described process repeatedlyin units of frames.

By spatially separating display periods from touch periods, instead oftemporally separating display periods from touch periods, it may bepossible to simultaneously perform display driving and touch driving.

Accordingly, it may be possible to ensure a long touch sensing time upontouch driving, resulting in improvement of touch detection performanceand accuracy in touch detection.

Also, it may be possible to ensure a long charging time upon displaydriving, resulting in prevention of deterioration in display quality.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that variousmodifications and variations can be made in embodiments of the presentinvention without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention.Thus, it is intended that the present invention cover the modificationsand variations of this invention provided they come within the scope ofthe appended claims and their equivalents.

A number of examples have been described above. Nevertheless, it will beunderstood that various modifications may be made. For example, suitableresults may be achieved if the described techniques are performed in adifferent order and/or if components in a described system,architecture, device, or circuit are combined in a different mannerand/or replaced or supplemented by other components or theirequivalents. Accordingly, other implementations are within the scope ofthe following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A display device comprising a touch screen,comprising: a panel, comprising: a plurality of gate lines; a pluralityof data lines; and a plurality of electrodes grouped into n groups in adirection in which the plurality of gate lines extend, where n is aninteger equal to or greater than 2; a display driving unit configuredto: apply a gate signal to each of the plurality of gate lines; apply adata signal to each of the plurality of data lines; and apply a commonvoltage or a touch scan signal to each of the plurality of electrodes;and a touch sensing unit configured to: generate the touch scan signal;and apply the touch scan signal to the display driving unit, wherein thedisplay driving unit is further configured to apply the touch scansignal to at least one group of the electrodes, other than a group ofthe electrodes corresponding to gate lines to which the gate signal isapplied, wherein the display driving unit is further configured torespectively apply the common voltage and the touch scan signal via aplurality of wires, the plurality of wires being respectively directlyconnected to the plurality of electrodes with a one-to-onecorrespondence, wherein the plurality of electrodes in each of the ngroups are electrically insulated from each other, and wherein thecommon voltage or the touch scan signal is individually applied to theplurality of electrodes in each of the n groups.
 2. The display deviceof claim 1, wherein the display driving unit is further configured toapply the touch scan signal to a plurality of groups other than thegroup corresponding to the gate lines to which the gate signal isapplied, among the n groups.
 3. The display device of claim 1, whereinthe display driving unit is further configured to apply the touch scansignal to the remaining groups other than the group corresponding to thegate lines to which the gate signal is applied, among the n groups. 4.The display device of claim 1, wherein the display driving unit isfurther configured to apply the common voltage to the remaining groupsother than the group to which the touch scan signal is applied, amongthe n groups.
 5. The display device of claim 4, wherein the displaydriving unit comprises a switching unit configured to perform switchingsuch that the touch scan signal is applied to a plurality of electrodesbelonging to the at least one group, or such that the common voltage isapplied to a plurality of electrodes belonging to the remaining groupsother than the group to which the touch scan signal is applied.
 6. Thedisplay device of claim 1, wherein the display driving unit comprises acommon voltage generator configured to generate the common voltage. 7.The display device of claim 1, wherein a minimum value of the touch scansignal is a voltage value greater than a value of the common voltage. 8.A method of driving a display device having a touch screen, the displaydevice comprising a panel comprising a plurality of electrodes groupedinto n groups, where n is an integer greater than 2, a display drivingunit, and a touch sensing unit, the method comprising: at the touchsensing unit, applying a touch scan signal to the display driving unit;and at the display driving unit: applying a gate signal to each of aplurality of gate lines corresponding to a first group among the ngroups; applying a common voltage to each of a plurality of electrodesbelonging to the first group; and applying a touch scan signal to eachof a plurality of electrodes belonging to a second group of the ngroups, wherein the display driving unit is further configured torespectively apply the common voltage and the touch scan signal via aplurality of wires, the plurality of wires being respectively directlyconnected to the plurality of electrodes with a one-to-onecorrespondence, wherein the plurality of electrodes in each of the ngroups are electrically insulated from each other, and wherein thecommon voltage or the touch scan signal is individually applied to theplurality of electrodes in each of the n groups.
 9. The method of claim8, further comprising: at the display driving unit, applying the gatesignal to a plurality of gate lines belonging to a second group, amongthe n groups; and at the display driving unit, applying the touch scansignal to a plurality of electrodes belonging to at least one group,among the n groups, other than the second group.
 10. The method of claim9, wherein the applying of the touch scan signal to the plurality ofelectrodes belonging to the at least one group other than the secondgroup comprises applying the touch scan signal to a plurality ofelectrodes belonging to a plurality of groups other than the secondgroup among the n groups.
 11. The method of claim 9, wherein theapplying of the touch scan signal to the plurality of electrodesbelonging to the at least one group other than the second groupcomprises applying the touch scan signal to a plurality of electrodesbelonging to the remaining groups other than the second group among then groups.
 12. The method of claim 9, further comprising, at the displaydriving unit, applying the common voltage to a plurality of electrodesbelonging to the remaining groups other than the at least one group towhich the touch scan signal is applied.
 13. The method of claim 8,wherein a minimum value of the touch scan signal is a voltage valuegreater than a value of the common voltage.
 14. A method of drivingdisplay device comprising a touch screen, the display device comprisinga panel comprising a plurality of gate lines, and a plurality ofelectrodes respectively corresponding to the plurality of gate lines,the method comprising: applying, by a touch sensing unit, a touch scansignal to a display driving unit; applying, by the display driving unit:a gate signal to a subset of each of the plurality of gate lines; acommon voltage to a first subset of each of the plurality of electrodes,corresponding to the subset of each of the plurality of gate lines; anda touch scan signal to a second subset of each of the plurality ofelectrodes, other than the first subset of each of the plurality ofelectrodes, wherein the display driving unit is further configured torespectively apply the common voltage and the touch scan signal via aplurality of wires, the plurality of wires being respectively directlyconnected to the plurality of electrodes with a one-to-onecorrespondence, wherein the plurality of electrodes in each of the ngroups are electrically insulated from each other, and wherein thecommon voltage or the touch scan signal is individually applied to theplurality of electrodes in each of the n groups.
 15. The method of claim14, wherein the applying of the touch scan signal to the second subsetof the plurality of electrodes comprises applying the touch scan signalto at least one third subset of the plurality of electrodes, within thesecond subset of the plurality of electrodes, the at least one thirdsubset of the plurality of electrodes being fewer than all of the secondsubset of the plurality of electrodes.
 16. The method of claim 14,wherein the applying of the touch scan signal to the second subset ofthe plurality of electrodes comprises applying the touch scan signal tothe entire second subset of the plurality of electrodes.
 17. The methodof claim 14, further comprising, at the display driving unit, applyingthe common voltage to the second subset of the plurality of electrodes.18. The method of claim 14, wherein a minimum value of the touch scansignal is a voltage value greater than a value of the common voltage.